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BLACK HISTORY MONTH: The Crisis in Black Education
Presorted StandardU.S. Postage Paid
Austin, TexasPermit No. 01949
INSIDE
Vol. 44 No. 39 Phone: 512-476-0082 Email: [email protected] February 17, 2017
www.TheAustinVillager.com
This paper canbe recycled
RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’Tommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy Wyatt
TPATPATPATPATPATEXASPUBLISHERSASSOCIATION
Chance the Rapper Wins Grammy® Gold& Performs a Gospel Classic
Chance The Rapper, Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann perform at the 59th Annual GRAMMYAwards on Feb. 12 in Los Angeles Photo: Kevin Winter (WireImage.com / The Recording Academy).
By Naomi RichardVillager Columnist
Chicago nativeChance the Rapper mademusic history with histhird project ColoringBook, which became thefirst streaming-exclusiveto ever win a Grammy®.
Chance the Rapperwon Best Rap Perfor-mance (“No Problem”),Best Rap Album (ColoringBook) and Best New Art-ist, signaling a transition inthe industry: independentartists with free contentcan succeed on nationally
recognized platforms. Heis the first Black hip-hopartist to win Best New Art-ist since Lauryn Hill in1999, and upon receivinghis award he was over-joyed and almost leftspeechless. He eloquentlythanked his team, TheAcademy, Chicago andGod for his wins.
Music’s BiggestNight® included a soul-stir-ring performance byChance featuring Gospeland Grammy Award® win-ning artists Kirk Franklinand Tamela Mann. In aspirit filled execution,
Chance the Rapper per-formed a medley of hitsfrom his popular mixtape,including “How Great,”“Blessings,” and “All WeGot” while accompaniedby a contemporary Gospelchoir.
According to Bill-board, Chance came onthe scene with vibrantrhymes and jazzy retrobeats and broke throughwith the 2013 mixtapeAcid Rap. Having consid-ered a career in musicthroughout his high schoolyears, Chance used a ten-day suspension during his
senior year to record hisdebut mixtape, “10 Day.”Uploaded immediately tothe internet in 2012, thetape grabbed the atten-tion of Forbes magazine,which featured it in thepublication’s Cheap Tunescolumn, as well as ChildishGambino, who askedChance to join his 2012tour of America as open-ing act. Gambino wouldland on the Acid Rapmixtape along with Ab-Soul and Action Bronson.With nothing but
See TOUR, page 2
Beyoncé, Black-ish, Moonlight &Hidden Figures Win Big Duringthe 48th NAACP Image Awards
Taraji P. Henson on 2017 NAACP Awards' RedCarpet Arrivals. Photo courtesy of NAACP Image Awards.
By Naomi RichardVillager Columnist
The winners of the“48th NAACP ImageAwards” were announcedFebruary 11 during thelive broadcast from Pasa-dena Civic Auditoriumwhich aired on TV One.The two-hour live specialwas hosted by AnthonyAnderson. There was alive pre-show from thered carpet hosted byNischelle Turner andTerrence Jenkins includingTai Beauchamp and ChrisSpencer as special corre-spondents.
NAACP ChairwomanRoslyn Brock presentedthe NAACP Chairman’sAward to Harvard LawProfessor Charles J.Ogletree, Jr. NAACP Presi-dent Cornell William
See BLACK-ISH, page 2
MLK’s NieceCondemnsReading of
Coretta ScottKing’s Letter
on Senate Floor
Alveda Celeste Kingby: Zenitha Prince
Senior AFROCorrespondent
The niece of the Rev.Martin Luther King Jr. isclaiming U.S. Sen. Eliza-beth Warren pulled the“race card” in denouncingSen. Jeff Sessions, Presi-dent Trump’s choice forthe next U.S. attorney gen-eral.
On Feb. 7, Warrentook to the Senate floor tovoice her opposition to thenominee, quoting from a1986 letter written by Dr.King’s widow, CorettaScott King in which shecriticized Sessions, whowas then running for ajudge’s bench.
But niece Alveda Kingsaid Sen. Warren, in citingher aunt’s letter, was play-ing into the nation’s bitterpast to advance her ends.
“It’s almost like a bait
See INTEGRITY, pg 8
HistoricalPlaque
CeremonyWhat: Austin Public
Health will hold a ribboncutting ceremony to com-memorate the historicalsite of the former TexasBlind, Deaf and OrphanSchool for Colored Youthwhich existed from 1887-1965.
In 2002, the city ofAustin purchased theformer school property(7201 Levander Loop)from the state of Texas todevelop a campus dedi-cated to providing publichealth services and animalservices. When: Satur-day, February 18, 2017 at12 noon. Where: BettyDunkerley Campus, 7201Levander Loop, Austin, TX78702.
Light refreshmentswill be served followingthe commemoration andfree parking is available forthose attending.
Austinites carry thelegacy of civil rightsadvocate A. DeWitty.
See HONORPage 2
Transcending jazzvocalist passes at 76.
See JARREAUPage 7
Democratic takeoverin congress
remains likely.See CASTRO
Page 6
TLBC to holdevent at the
Capitol. There has been a lot ofactivity during this BlackHistory Month. In additionto remembering those whohave paved the way for us,we have also been givingsome attention to those whoare making contributionstoday. One such event willbe the upcoming TexasLegislative Black CaucusWeekend. They will host a three dayweekend; February 26-28.One of their specialprograms will be an event tohonor Roland Parrish. Hewill be honored for his manyaccomplishments. Parrishowns 25 McDoanld’sfranchises in North Texas.This accomplishment hasplaced his company onBlack Enterprise Magazine’slist of America’s top 100black-owned businesses.There will be a specialluncheon on the Capitolgrounds on Monday, Feb.27. Other participants in theprogram feature a number ofspeakers including RuthSimmons. Simmons, who aspresident of BrownUniversity became the firstAfrican American to run anIvy League university, willspeak at a scholarshipbanquet on Monday, Feb. 27. Rushion McDonald, theDaytime Emmy award-winning producer whodeveloped the “SteveHarvey” daytime show,“The Parkers”, and “TheJamie Foxx Show”, will bethe keynote speaker for theCommunity AwardsBreakfast on Tuesday, Feb.28. The public is especiallyencouraged to attend panelson revelent topics like healthcare, education & youthservices, and business &economic development. Allevents are free and open tothe public for those whoregister on the TLBC 2017A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a nLegislative Summit pagehosted by Eventbrite.com. The TLBC Summit givesus the opportunity to see upclose many of ourcontemporary leaders. Theseare people who are makingBlack History today.
Page 2 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 17, 2017 THE COMMUNIQUÉ www.theaustinvillager.com
Arthur B. DeWitty(1908-1967) was a persua-sive spokesman for the causeof civil rights. In the dayswhen others remained silent,DeWitty spoke out on a va-riety of issues including theneeds of East Austin. He at-tended school board andchurch meetings, advocatingcivil rights and equal oppor-tunity for all.
DeWitty expected the bestfrom people and often gotthe best from them as a re-sult. In 1945, DeWitty orga-nized the Travis County Vot-ers League in order to in-crease voter participation inlocal elections. In 1951, heran for Austin City Counciland almost won a seat as thefirst African-American to doso. In 1953, the Austin City
Council, together with theAustin American- States-man, in response toDeWitty’s near win, advo-cated for a change in Austin’svoting system that wouldmake it more difficult for mi-norities to win a City Coun-cil seat. A charter change forall at-large, citywide seats,was put on the ballot andquickly passed. In 1956, DeWitty re-ceived East Austin’s first“Most Worthy Citizen”award. Mayor Tom Millersigned a proclamation mak-ing April 15th “ArthurDeWitty Day” in Austin.Over 3,000 people turnedout to honor him. In 1966,the local NAACP chapterestablished the AnnualArthur DeWitty FreedomAward in his honor. Theaward is given each year tothe person in Austin who hasmade the most significantcontribution in the field ofcivil rights. In 1967, Arthur DeWittydied. His dream lives on inthe hearts, minds and workof thousands of Austiniteswho carry on his legacy.
NAMED IN THEIR HONORThe Arthur B DeWitty Vocational Job Training Facility
Arthur B. DeWitty
mixtapes in his dis-cography, he was stillpopular enough to be afeatured artist atLollapalooza in 2013
In 2016, Chancedropped Coloring Book,which debuted at numbereight on the Billboard 200album chart! The mixtapefeatured guest appear-ances from Kanye West,
Justin Bieber, and Future;the single “No Problem,”featuring Lil Wayne and 2Chainz, placed inside theTop 40. Coloring Bookearned high praise fromcritics, and helped Chanceearn seven Grammy®
nominations.Chance walked away
from the 59th GrammyAwards® as a three-time
Grammy® winner. KirkFranklin won best gospelalbum for Losing My Reli-gion earlier in the night; heand Mann also won bestgospel performance/songfor their collaboration“God Provides.”
Chance comes toAustin, Texas as part of thefifth-annual JMBLYA 2017Tour alongside Migos, LilUzi Vert, and more on Sat-urday May 6 at Circuit ofthe Americas - LakesideLot C. Tickets are availableat www.ticketfly.com.
TheJMBLYA2017 Tourcoming toAustin in
MayCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Chance The Rap-per arrives at the 59thAnnual GRAMMYAwards on February 12in Los Angeles. Photo:Frazer Harrison/GettyI m a g e s / R e c o r d i n gAcademy.
Black-ish show and several cast memberstake honors at NAACP Image Awards
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Cast of NBC’s “Black-ish” wins Best Television Comedy in Pasadena,California. Photo courtesy of the NAACP Image Awards.
Brooks presented theNAACP President’s Awardto Lonnie G. Bunch, III.
The “Beehive” mustbe thrilled to know theirstar, Beyoncé Knowles,took home OutstandingFemale Artist; Outstand-ing Music Video for For-mation; Outstanding Al-bum for Lemonade; Out-standing Duo, Group orCollaboration and Out-standing Song (Contem-porary) for “Freedom”featuring Kendrick Lamar.
NBC’s sitcom “Black-ish” continues to be a fa-vorite, winning TraceeEllis Ross OutstandingActress in a Comedy Se-ries; Anthony AndersonOutstanding Actor in aComedy Series; MarsaiMartin Outstanding Per-formance by a Youth (Se-ries, Special, TelevisionMovie or Limited-Series);Kenya Barris OutstandingWriting in a Comedy Se-ries; Laurence FishburneOutstanding SupportingActor in a Comedy Series;and the show itself wonBest Television Comedy.
Moonlight, a time-less story of human self-discovery and connectionwhich chronicles the life ofa young black man(Mahershala Ali) fromchildhood to adulthoodwon 4 NAACP ImageAwards. Ali won Out-standing Supporting Ac-tor in a Motion Picture.The film received Out-standing IndependentMotion Picture; Out-standing Writing in aMotion Picture (Film) andOutstanding Directing ina Motion Picture (Film).
The FOX Studio sen-
sational hit “Empire” wasrecognized with theshow’s leading lady, TarajiP. Henson winning Out-standing Actress in aDrama Series. Hensonalso nabbed OutstandingActress in a Motion Pic-ture for “Hidden Figures”.Currently one of the hot-test acts in Hollywood,Henson arrived dressed ina sizzling black curvygown, highlighted by anextremely high and sexysplit showcasing her at-tractive open toe strappedheels. Her gown left littledoubt that she could con-fidently bring a sensa-tional look to the live tele-cast!
Hidden Figures wonthe coveted OutstandingMotion Picture Awardalong with Margot LeeShetterly winning Out-standing Literary Work(author of Hidden Figures:The Story of the African-American Women WhoHelped W in the SpaceRace).
The Villager Newspa-per appreciates the oppor-tunity to attend and coverthe 48th NAACP ImageAwards.
St. Peter’s United Methodist Church 4509 Springdale Road Austin, Tx 78723Office 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281
Christian Web Site-stpetersaustintx.ning.com
[email protected] PLACE WHERE WE STEP OUT ON FAITH.
COME AND STEP OUT ON FAITH WITH USSunday School 8:45 a.m.
Praise and Worship 10:15 a.m.Wednesday Bible Study 12:00 p.m.
and Praise /Bible Study 6:30 p.m.(to include Children’s Choir Rehersaland
Bible Study with age appropiate Activities)Rev. Jack C. Gause Pastor
Agape Baptist ChurchIn “The Centre” Bldg. F-15 7801 N. Lamar Blvd. (SE Corner of N Lamar and 183)
AGAPE is a chuch for all people. “Where Jesus Christ is Magnified and the love Heexhibited is Exemplified.” Come, receive God’s unconditional lovefor you.
For there is no greater love!
Church ServicesSunday School 9:30 AMSunday Worship 11:00 AM
Mid-Week Service Thursday: Praise,Prayer and Bible Study 7:00 PMCall 454-1547 for Transporation
Website www.agapebcaustintx.comRev. H. Ed Calahan
Pastor
Imani Community ChurchDavis Elementray Auditorium 5214 West Duval Road
Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Worship Service 10:00 A.M.•Power Hour Bible Life Group 6:00 P.M.
Imani Complex & Office,11800 Mustang at Duval Austin, Texas 78727
Visit:imanichurch.comOffice: 512-343-9300Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Donald-Mims
7801 N. Lamar Blvd,Suite D 102,
Austin, Texas 78752
Worship: Sunday--10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Tuesday Bible Studies--7:30pm - 9:00 pmFriday Prayers--7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
The Church of Pentecost, USA Inc,Austin offers a wide variety of opportuni-ties for children, youth, adults, and olderadults to be involved in worship, spiritualgrowth, education, community outreach,and making a tangible difference to thosein need in our community. You too, canmake a positive difference in our commu-nity through your prayers, your presence,your gifts, your service, and your witness.Tel: 512 302-1270
Leading People to Experience God’s Love, Know Jesus Christ & Grow in His ImageThe Church of Pentecost
Olive Branch Fellowship of Austin / All Faith Chapel4110 Guadalupe St Bldg #639 Austin, TX 78751
Sunday MorningWorship @ 11: am
Romans 5:1 Therefore,having beenjustified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
This life, therefore, is not righteous-ness, but growth in righteousness; not health,but healing; not being, but becoming; not rest,but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be,but we are growing toward it. The process isnot yet finished, but it is going on. This is notthe end, but it is the road. All does not yetgleam in glory, but all is being purified.
--- Martin Luther
Kenneth Hill, Pastor
1179 San Bernard Street,Austin, TX 78702, 512-478-7023
Sunday Morning Bible Study, 9:00 A.M.Sunday Morning Worship, 10:15 A.M.Visit our website @ www.obcaus.org
Globalizing the Gospel
A Ministry That Ministers
Edward M. Fleming,Sr. Pastor
OLIVET BAPTISTCHURCH
Felix Bamirin, PastorGRACEWAY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Experience Grace For Life
(By Parmer Lane Baptist Church building, behind Wells Fargo)
Call: 682.472.9073 l Email: [email protected] lVisit: www.gracewaycca.org
JOIN US This SUNDAY / THURSDAY@ 12424 Scofield Farms Drive, Austin, TX 78758
SUNDAYS 10:30 A.M., THURSDAYS 7:30 P.M.
Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church 5900 Cameron Road Austin, Texas 78723-1843
(512) 451-0808 (512) 302-4575 Fax Web Site - www.themount.net
WORSHIP SERVICESSunday Worship - 7:45 a.m. & 11 a.m.Church School - 9:45 a.m.Bible Studies - Mon, 6:30 p.m. & Wed., 12 noonWednesday Night Worship - 7 p.m.
“Ministries For Mankind” Luke 4:18 A.W.. Anthony Mays, Senior Pastor
Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street 512-478-1875 Fax 512-478-1892
WednesdayMidweek Prayer Service 7:00 P.M.Child Development CenterAges 0-5 years (Daily) 512-478-6709
Bus Ministry Call 512-478-1875
Worship Service 8:00 A.M.Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Discipleship Training 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.
Dr. Ricky Freeman,Pastor
Sunday Services
Do you have church news? Would you like topurchase a monthly ad for your church?
Inquire TODAY!Send your information to [email protected]
or call 512-476-0082
Villager Youth Brigade will be taking sponsorshipsstarting summer of 2015.Your support has beenmuch appreciated over the years. Please continueto invest in Austin’s youth. We look forward toanother successful year with some promisingstudents. FMI Call 512-476-0082
DOUBLE
GROCERY“R”
450l East Martin Luther King Blvd.*We cash ALL Tax Refund*Checks *Check Out
Country Boyz Fixin’s4140 E. 12th Street, Austin, TX 78721
Featuring Fish, Poboys, Hot Wings, Pork Chops,Homemade Gumbo, Shrimp and Alligator
DINE IN OR ORDER TO GOMon - Friday 11 am - 8 p.m.Saturday - 12 noon - 8 p.m.
Closed SundayCall (512) 928-5555
*Mention this ad and get a FREE 20 oz. Drink*
www.theaustinvillager.com THE BULLETIN THE VILLAGER/February 17, 2017 ~ Page 3
We Want YOU!Advertise With
TheVILLAGER
New Lincoln Missionary Baptist Church2215 E. 8th St., Austin, TX 78702
Going to Higher Heights,Trusting God along the way.
Sunday School 9:00amBTU: 10:00am
Morning Worship - 11:00 amChurch Phone (512) 477-2714
Cell Phont (512) 585-0744Email: [email protected]
www.newlincolnmbc.org Rev. Darron E. Patterson Pastor
DAVID CHAPEL Missionary Baptist ChurchSUNDAY
Christian Education 9:15a.m. | Worship 10:30 a.m.Nursery Available
WEDNESDAY |Worship 1st Wed. monthly 7:00p.m. | Bible Study 7:30p.m.
Dr. Joseph C. Parker, Jr.Senior Pastor
2211 East Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd.Austin, TX 78702
Office: 512-472-9748 Fax: 512-472-5399Website: www.davidchapel.org Email: [email protected]
“A Church with a Heart for The Community”
On Jan. 27, the Honorable Carl E. Stewart, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the FifthCircuit, joined members of the Gamma Gamma Boulé of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity along with severalother attorneys including Chip Brees, Kim Wilson Vincent, Judge Harriet Murphy, and Arleas Keas,president-elect of the UT Law School Association, for a breakfast meeting. Judge Stewart discussedbeing the first African American to serve on the Fifth Circuit and the role the National Bar Associa-tion has played in his life.
Lawyers, Judges & Gammas...Oh My!
“KNOW THYSELF FROM YOUR ANCESTORS”
Barbara Williams-Huggins
By Arlene L. Youngblood | VILLAGER ContributerThroughout the
month of February,Wesley United MethodistChurch (1164 San Ber-nard) will be celebratingBlack History Month witha focus on “Know Thyselffrom Your Ancestors” asshared by the 2017 BlackHistory Month ChairmanBarbara Williams-Huggins.Each Sunday, there will bespecial presentations dur-ing morning worshipwhich touch upon the ori-
gins of the Black Historycelebration in Americaand its rich pre-Americahistory from Mother Africato the shores of the UnitedStates. Topics include: the10 African Empires, theTop 10 African Kings andQueens, Black People inthe Bible, and BlackAmerican Heroes (rangingfrom medical profession-als, inventors, abolition-ists, the Underground Rail-road, Black pioneers, Civil
Rights workers, andpresent day 21st centuryrole models).
After worship serviceon Sunday, February 26,2017, there will be a SoulFood luncheon. Pleasewear your African attire.The public is invited to joinus each Sunday. The Rev.Sylvester E. Chase, Jr. isSenior Pastor of WesleyUMC. The church is lo-cated at 1164 San BernardStreet. For more informa-
tion, call (512) 478-7007;visit wesleyunited.org.
EBENEZER THIRD BAPTISTCHURCH CELEBRATES
142 YEARSEbenezer Third Baptist Church will celebrate its
142nd Anniversary, Sunday, February 19, 2017. Serviceswill be at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., with Pastor Ricky Free-man preaching at each Service. The Theme—EbenezerThird Baptist Church Celebrating 142 Years of Service:Built on Faith, Sustained by Hope, Continuing in Prayer(Roman 5:2-5) Friends, former members, and others,please join us in this Special Occasion.
*See ad on this page for address.
Dove Release Service for SisterRoberta Pauline CalahanThe Dove Release
Service for the Late SisterRoberta Pauline Calahanwill be held on Saturday,February 18, 2017, 1:00p.m. at the Cook WaldenCapital Parks Cemetery,Section V, and Lot 25 B.There is no special attire.If you can, please comeand celebrate with thefamily in this finality of theHome going special ser-vice. Thank you for yourprayers and support.
-Pastor H. Ed Calahan Roberta Calahan
“The cost of liberty is lessthan the price of repression.”
—W.E.B. Du Bois
Youth of TodayHope of Tomorrow
Kappa Alpha PsiFraternity, Inc
Page 4 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 17, 2017 YOUTH BRIGADE www.theaustinvillager.com
Boy Scouts Parade
On Saturday, Febru-ary 4, Boy Scouts ofAmerica held its 68th an-nual parade and Reportto the State of Texas.This year ’s theme was“Deep in the Heart ofTexas”. STEM Scouts,Explorers, Cub Scouts,Boy Scouts, VarsityScouts, Venturers, andSea Scouts from all overTexas marched from the
Congress Avenue bridgeto the Capitol. Scout del-egates from each Texascouncil were seated inthe House of Representa-tives. Delegates re-ported their counci l’spast year’s scouting ac-complishments toRolando B. Pablos, theTexas Secretary of State.There were over 3500 at-tendees.
I attended as a del-egate from Capitol AreaCouncil STEM Scouts. Weattended a breakfastmeeting then joined theother scouts. We led theparade, attended theScout Spirit Rally, and satin the House of Represen-tative Chambers for Re-port to State.This was myfirst year attending. I feltproud to be a Boy Scout ofAmerica STEM Scout!
Ava RobertsSpring Hill Elementary
Kennedy GeorgePflugerville Cele M. S.
Cele Poetry Slam
Our school is havinga poetry slam in a fewweeks and our Englishteacher asked us to writethree poems. This is oneof them entitled: The Fouro'clock flower.
The sun sets in thehorizon and that's when Ibloom Come smell mysweet fragrance more
powerful than the mostexpensive perfume I amthe shower flower eveningblossom, night beauty,princess of the night, orMarvel of Peru, I am amesmerizing color withyellow, pink, white are vio-let swirls I am an extraor-dinary sight under themoonlight but no one isthere to see Because Atthe break of dawn I am al-ready closed The colorshidden from view no moresweet perfume Boringlooking surrounded byblooming Daisies and Tu-lips who have already be-gun to judge The princesshas gone to sleep TheMarvel has taken a walk soif you want to see mybeauty meet me at fouro'clock
Chores
At home, mybrother and I have to dochores every weekend.The thing I don't like isthat I always have to dothem when I'm alreadydoing something like
Joshua MooreKIPP Austin Academy
watching TV or I'm doingsomething on my phone.Also, I always have to dothem when I'm tired be-cause I'm normally justgetting home from prac-tice or a game.
The chores I have todo is fold my clothes,clean the bathroom,clean my room, and takeout the trash. The one ldislike most of all iscleaning the bathroombecause it takes the mosttime to do and I don'thave a favorite chore.
In conclusion, Idon't like chores becausethey are boring, but theyare really important be-cause it teaches you re-sponsibility.
Bringing Poetry to Life
Kevin ParishPark Crest M.S.
SaNaya WhiteAnn Richards In one of my
classes, (STARS) we arerequired to participate ina big coding project. Theproject mission or goal isto find a poem that ourgroup thought was mean-ingful to us. We wouldtake the poem and "bringit to l ife" by using aMakey Makey. A MakeyMakey is a coding boardwhere you can controlyour computer with the(Makey Makey) itself.With the Makey Makey,we were to program ourpoem with a free codingwebsite called Scratch.
We would program itto play our groups vocalrecordings and musicalrecordings. We wouldtake the poem and some-how turn it into our ownso we could present toour families and friends
in a way that they couldunderstand and interpretit easily. My group and Istruggled to understandour requirements, thenwe struggled to find outwhat to do, and lastly westruggled to code. Istayed after school witha friend because mygroup and I were not go-ing to finish because wedid not know how.
With the help of mygreat friend, my groupsproject worked and I willtell you what it was pro-grammed to do. It wasfour foam kids alphabetfloor mats, and when youused your socks to stepon the foil (that wasplaced in the center ofthe floor mats) it wouldplay a certain piece of thepoem depending onwhich mat you steppedon. It would play the ac-tual poem, theme, title,and author. Our projectdid not work during test-ing, but during presenta-tion we figured out thatbecause shoes are madeout of rubber, they areinsulators and will notconduct electricity butsocks are the opposite.
We finally got ourproject to work and nowwe only have to improve.We did a great job andI'm proud of myself andmy group's efforts.
I know everybodylikes potato chips but noteveryone knows who in-vented them. GeorgeSpeck (George Crum) wasborn in Saratoga County inupstate New York on July15, 1824. While he wasworking as a chef in the
summer of 1853, he acci-dently invented the chip;he cut the potatoes intoslices as thin as possible,then deep fried them to acrisp, added salt andserved to the customer. In1860; he quit his job at theresort to open up his ownrestaurant called “Crum’sHouse” in Malta, nearSaratoga Springs,
New York. His restau-rant closed around 1890.Crum never patented itbecause blacks were notallowed to do that at thattime. He died on 1914 atthe age of 90, so everytime you think and or eata potato chip, think ofGeorge Crum.
George Washington Carver
Montrae NelsonFour Points M. S.Hello, This month i
will be writing my articlesabout celebrating BlackHistory Month and the Af-rican Americans who cre-ated history. The week iwill tell the story of George
Washington Carver.The exact day of his
birth is unknown but hewas born into slavery inMissouri in either 1861 orJanuary 1864. He becamea botanist and chemistwho made important agri-cultural discoveries.
His research on pea-nuts, sweet potaoes andother products helpedpoor southern farmersvary their crops and im-prove their diets. Hemostly became famousfor his work with peanutsand the many ways touse them.
Crum’s House
Zachariah WashingtonCrockett High School
American Sign Language
Hello Readers,Well at my school ev-
erybody has to take a for-eign language class for aminimum of 2 years. I choseAmerican Sign Language (ASL ) because I always won-dered how deaf peoplecommunicated with theworld so I ask the council forthe Freshman class and hetold me that ASL would bethe way to go so I took theASL language coursebecuase it sounds interest-ing.
So I have ASL firstperiod and it is a greatexperience because welearn a language outsideof English and you learnso much about deaf cul-ture and how the deafcommunity has come along way since the lan-guage first started. Thework load in my ASL classis easy because my awe-some teacher named Ms.Landry is the best that itgets when it comes to theASL language besides adeaf person. We learnnew signs and she signswith us and she looks tosee if we are having anytrouble and once every-body gets it she gives usa test about the topicthat we learned that daycalled a Formative.
I believe that every-body should learn a for-eign langauge course soyou can commuicate withpeople of all langaugesjust not only english.
Valentine/Black History
Valentine Day is the14th and many are gettingready for that day. My spe-cial girls are my mother,sister and grandmother.This week is also the weekto sign up for baseball atBarbara Jordan. The hall-ways walls are lined withpictures and articles aboutfamous or noted Blacks inAmerican history. Verylittle of the articles are re-lated to Austin’s Black his-tory.
Many people born inAustin have made histori-cal contribution bothcitywide and national.Others made contributionswhile living in Austin. Sun-day night at the GrammyAwards show, oneAustinite was showcased.It was Gary Clark Jr. Clark
is a recognized guitaristand musician.
When reading aboutAustin’s Black historythere is one name that isalways mentioned. It’s thelegendary band directorB.L. Joyce of Old AndersonHigh School. The list Ifound of outstanding mu-sicians from Austin is verylong. Yet most people nowdays have no idea whothey were or what theydid.
One outstanding mu-sician many still recognizeis James Polk. Polk is amulti-talented musicianand educator. He was wonmany awards. He was notborn in Austin. I was toldthat Austin claims him any-way. Polk play in the RayCharles Orchestra for tenyears.
The Austin Jazz So-ciety has honored manylocal Black Austinite mu-sicians. Some of them areGil Askey, Martin Banks,Kenny Dorham, Ernie MaeMiller, James Polk, GeneRamey and Nathaniel Wil-liams. To learn moreabout these outstandingmusician just google theirnames.
Tyler AllenBarbara Jordan Elem.
www.TheAustinVillager.com
@TheVillagerATX
HBCU DAY at the CarverSat February 18 @ 10:00 am | 2:00 pmGeorge Washington Carver Museum
1165 Angelina St.HBCUs are crowns in the African American
tapestry; testaments to progress. Representativesfrom across the country will be present to meetwith high school students, provide informationabout admissions and more!
www.theaustinvillager.com THE COURIER THE VILLAGER/February 17, 2017~ Page 5
How My Week Went
Last week was stress-ful because of how muchhomework I had this week.
Last week all of my teach-ers had meetings and myipad has a technical prob-lem so I couldn't tell myteacher that my ipad wasbroken. I had so much classwork to do for homeworkbecause I didn't have a ipad.When one of my teachercame back I had to explainwhy all my work is turnedin late because the otherstudents were not doingtheir work. But at the endof last week I started to feelbetter and got more workdone. But it still wasn'tenough because I havehomework on the week-end.
Alyssa James WinnManor High School
As I'm writing this, to-morrow is Valentine's Day,and I'm excited. Not be-cause I have a valentine.
Chance HallDel Valle High School
Not because I may have avalentine. But because myschool is notorious for onething, and that one thingis so consistent I would betmoney on it. A couple willhave an explosive breakup.
I know, I'm not sup-posed to enjoy this "tradi-tion", and I don't. I justthink it's amusing to seewhich immature couple iscurrently shouting downthe main hallway. And be-fore tomorrow rollsaround. Not only would Ibet ten dollars a couplebreaks up, this is so con-sistent, I would bet an-other twenty that it hap-pens before lunch ends.
Curse of Valentine's Day
Quinn LangfordCedar Ridge H. S.
First Robotics Team2881, the robotics team Iam on, is pretty much fin-ished with the 2017 com-petition robot. We’re justworking out the kinks tomake it shoot the whiffleballs accurately everytime. A major change wemade to the design sincemy last update was thatwe replaced the limitswitch sensor, which was
harder to position per-fectly, with Hall EffectSensors stationed on thetop of the carousel.These sensors outputvoltage based on thestrength of an externalmagnetic field.
A magnet is posi-tioned above the carou-sel so that at certainpoints it will pass by thesensors, triggering thepiston to push the ballsup into the shooter. In ad-dition to the first robot,we are also building asecond twin robot. Afterour six weeks of build areup, the first robot willhave to be placed in asealed bag and we willnot be able to touch ituntil competition, so weneed another robot topractice driving with. Thesecond robot is alreadyalmost done, as all wehad to do was copy whatwe’d already done.
Robot Updates
Where Our Water Comes From
Cyrena MatingouCedar Ridge H. S.
The Austin Exploringpost, a branch of the Real-World Career ExperiencesExploring, went to theUllrich Water TreatmentPlant to learn about thetypes of engineering in-volved in the process of pu-rifying water. Our trip wason Saturday, February 9th.The Exploring post gives usthe opportunity to explorecareer opportunities in theSTEM field by going on dif-ferent trips in the Austinarea. We learn about differ-ent opportunities which re-sult in growth and develop-ment.
When you turn onyour faucet, clean, freshwater pumps out, as ex-pected, but what happensbefore the water comes outof your sink? The process ofturning water from riverwater to drinkable waterbegins with water bringpumped from Lake Austinor Lake Travis, which branchoff the Colorado River. Thewater goes to a water treat-
ment plant and runsthrough screens to removeany large debris, then is dis-infected to kill any diseases.The plant adds chemicals,such as lime, fluoride, am-monia, and chlorine, caus-ing particles to clump to-gether so they can sink tothe bottom of the watertank. The water has miner-als added to it, then flowsout into filters, where it sitsfor hours. This allows morecontact time for the work-ers to ensure purification.The clean water is pumpedinto reservoirs where it isthen distributed throughpipes to homes, businesses,and schools.
Walking through thefacility was a great experi-ence and the staff wasvery friendly. The variousengineers working in theplant, the majority civil en-gineers, ranged from tomechanical to environ-mental engineers. The en-tire facility was very im-pressive and had technol-ogy around every corner.The water tanks used topurify the water were gi-ant; one water tank canclean 20,000,000 gallonsof water per day! TheUllrich water treatmentplant is not the only plantin the Austin area. TheDavis Plant and the WaterTreatment Plant 4 are twofacilities that provide safedrinking water for us andthe men and women thatstaff the plants have alarge impact on the healthof the city.
Youth Taking Action
With the passage ofSB4, a bill that would makeAustin an anti-sanctuary,in the Senate and the re-cent ICE raids, many of myfriends are fearful ofwhat's to come for the sta-tus of their families andtheir lives.
I can't even imaginethe amount of fear andanxiety one must sufferfrom the threat an oppor-tunity for a better life be-ing stripped away and hav-ing to worry beingseperated from their fami-lies with no guarantee ofever seeing them again.
I'm not directly af-fected by this issue, but Irefuse to idly sit aroundand do nothing whileother people, my closestfriends, can't even leavetheir house because of thegenuine fear of detain-ment or deportation.
A group of approxi-mately 15 students, in-cluding myself, have dedi-cated our spare time toensuring that families aresafe and working to makesure SB4 doesn't passthrough the Texas Houseof Representatives. Weare meeting afterschoolevery week and on week-ends to create an emer-gency plan for undocu-mented families, reach outto organizations and busi-ness to provide resourcesfor those affected by theselaws, and develop a planfor swaying the votes ofmoderates in regard toSB4 in the House of Rep-resentatives. This week weare working to get out en-tire school involved withour ambitious plans.
Through our variousmeetings, I was filled withawe by the benevolenceof our teachers. They havea surplus amount of workto complete yet they stillcame to school on theweekend to help their stu-dents. Additionally, theproactiveness and dedica-tion of the students alsoinspired hope within all ofus. Our commitment toadvocating for a changeand taking action in ourcommunity, as the youth,is inexplicably powerful.
Jalen MooreKIPP Austin Collegiate
Kayla WinnManor New Technology
Legends of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s day, a daywhere people show theirloved ones they care. Butwhy was Valentine’s Daymade a holiday? “One leg-end contends that Valen-tine was a priest whoserved during the thirdcentury in Rome. WhenEmperor Claudius II de-cided that single menmade better soldiers thanthose with wives and fami-lies, he outlawed marriagefor young men. Valentine,realizing the injustice ofthe decree, defiedClaudius and continued to
perform marriages foryoung lovers in secret.When Valentine’s actionswere discovered, Claudiusordered that he be put todeath.(History.com)” An-other legend behind ST.Valentine’s and Valentine’sDay is that while he was injail he sent the first“Valentine’s” to a youngwoman he fell in love with.
Although the realreason for Valentines Dayis not fully evident it is safeto say that Valentine’s is awidely celebrated holidaywith many traditions.Many people take thepeople they love out toeat, on a date, spend timewith them, buy gifts, andeven write songs as a wayto show their love for eachother. It is still a topic de-bated on every year. Manybelieve that rather thanmaking Valentines aboutmaterial things it shouldpurely be things from yourheart like it originally was.What do you thinkValentine’s Day is?
My Weekend
Friday I went to theMillennium for a specialevent. The event washosted by Empire Fresh.Empire Fresh is a organiza-tion that steers teens awayfrom smoking cigarettes.They did a short trivia whensomeone walked in thedoor about cigarette factsand gave people the chanceto win free Empire Freshmerchandise. Also, they
gave out free skating tickets.Close to the end of the
event, they held a dancebattle, which was prettyfun. After this, we went tosee my cousin play basket-ball. When we got there, wecheered him on from thestart and he showed that heheard us by giving us a greatgame. They played a hardgame and ended up win-ning the game.
This Saturday was agreat. I woke up, got my fa-vorite breakfast tacos, andwent to Saturday school.From Saturday school Iheaded straight to the radiostation. There, we pro-grammed the music, got onair, and gave a great show.We also ate pizza from Ar-peggio and they make BIGpizzas. I ate so much, I al-most had the itis standingup.
Damon Luckett IIHays High School
Sarah RobertsonAthlos Leadership Acad.
Recently we cel-ebrated my GrandmotherAnnie Robertson’s 75th
birthday. Since she wasturning 75 the theme ofthe party was “Hats Off”.So everyone that attended
wore a hat of all shapes,sizes, and colors. Theparty was very special be-cause it’s not every dayyou have a 75th birthdayparty. All of my grandma’sfriends and family came tohelp celebrate her birth-day at the MillenniumYouth Center complex.She has friends from whenshe was a little girl inmiddle school. I can’t im-age having friends for over50 years.
One of the excitingtime of the party was look-ing over my grandma’s lifeduring a slideshow presen-tation of pictures through-out the years, to see what
it was like 75 years ago andall the differences com-pared to now. Also, therewere pictures of when mygrandmother was youngerwhich was wonderful.
I had a great time atGrandma’s party with allmy cousins and I can’twait until her next birth-day party. I think it is im-portant to celebrateBlack History Month butmore important to cel-ebrate those senior adultsin your life. Those whohave made sacrifices andcontributions to makingyour life special. Hat’s offto you Grandma, you arespecial to me and a lot ofother people.
Happy Birthday, Grandma
Pictured left to right: Hannah Robertson, Dr. Nathan Robertson,Annie Robertson, Sharon Robertson and Sarah Robertson.
Page 6 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 17, 2017 DIASPORA www.theaustinvillager.com
Immigration Raidsin Travis County
In the past week,Travis County has been atarget for the Federal Gov-ernment and the State ofTexas due to the SheriffHernandez stance on be-ing a “Sanctuary County.”According to the definitionof being a “SanctuaryCounty” means that thecounty or city will onlyshare the information ofun-documented immi-grants who have commit-ted a felony crime, such asmurder, rape, human traf-ficking; drunk driving andvarious types of assault toFederal Immigration offic-ers. Moreover, this stanceby the Travis County hasbrought the “raft” of theState of Texas and the Fed-eral Government.
From late Wednes-day to late Friday, Immi-gration officers have con-ducted “raids” in CentralTexas. From Manor,Pflugerville to Austin,there have been FederalImmigration Officers raid-ing businesses and homesin search of undocu-
Congressman CastroStops in East Austin
On February 11, 2017Congressman JoaquinCastro made a stop in EastAustin to speak to TravisCounty Democrats. Thelocation in which Con-gressman Joaquin Castrospoke was so full that theyhad to turn away some in-dividuals. According tothe organizers, over 200people attended thisevent. At this event, Con-gressman Joaquin Castrospoke about the currentclimate of Texas andUnited States politics. Inother words, the recentUS election was the majortheme of this event.
Moreover, Congress-man Joaquin Castro spokeabout the fact both theUnited States Senate andthe United States House ofRepresentatives are feel-ing the pressure comingfrom the streets. In addi-tion, he encouraged theparticipants at this eventto keep up their work ofholding the new elected
Ana Cortez HostCommunity Meeting
Last week Wednes-day, Ana Cortez who isrunning for the TexasHouse District 46 held a“Greet and Meet” inManor, Texas. Moreover,typical Greet and Meetevents are usually gearedto groups of supportersor for those who are in-terested in supporting acandidate. Conse-quently, this Greet andMeet event was an op-portunity for the attend-ees to ask Ana Cortez re-garding some of the is-sues she plans toachieve.
Ana Cortez has beenvery engaged in theManor community. As an“older resident” ofManor, she is a part ofthe fabric of this growingcity. She has served onthe Manor Art Councilswhich is a group that isfocused on the arts. Fur-
by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon | Villager Columnist
by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist
Pictured above is: Texas House District 46 can-didate, Ana Cortez (center) with Family members ather community meet and greet. Photo by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon
thermore, she opened acafé in Manor a long timeago. However, she hasrecently closed the caféthat served as a “spot”for local artists to per-form and also employedpeople. In addition, shecurrently serves on theManor School Board.
Ana Cortez is run-ning for Texas House Dis-trict 46 in order, to focuson sensible policies thatwould benefit all Texans.She has numerous issuesthat she is focused thatrange from transporta-tion to education. Hereducation policies statethat “Regardless of back-ground, all Texas shouldhave an option to attendcollege and not incur amassive amount of stu-dent debt. Collegesshould be efficient andinnovative in the deliveryof education and servicesin order to keep costs lowand focus on the skillsand knowledge neededto succeed.”
Mr. Munoz, Central Texas Immigration protestleader. Photo by Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
mented immigrants. Forinstance, the Federal Im-migration officer had ran-dom checkpoints aroundthe Lamar-Rundbergneighborhood. Moreover,this neighborhood wastargeted due to its highdensity of immigrants liv-ing and working in thearea.
These unexpectedraids has caused activiststo mobilize themselves.According to some, 44people were detained af-ter these raids were done.Not only did these raidsspark anger but it alsobrought unity among vari-ous activists. For instance,Mr. Munoz, a member ofLULAC was one of the firstpersons to join a local pro-test group that was oper-ating at the intersection ofLamar and Rundberg. Asthe night grew, so did thecrowd of protesters in-crease. By the end of thenight, there were about200 concerned citizensprotesting these immigra-tion raids.
by Tsoke(Chuch) Adjavon |Villager Columnist
President and the Con-gress accountable. Ac-cording to CongressmanCastro, the citizen partici-pation and engagementare causing some electedofficials on both sides ofthe aisle to reflect more ontheir vote that they castedat the Congress.
Finally most of theattendees at this eventwere waiting to see if Con-gressman Castro wouldmake a formal speech re-garding a possible run forthe US Senate Seat fromTexas. However, Congress-man Castro mentionedthat in 8 weeks he willmake a formal decision onwhether he will run or notrun for the seat. In addi-tion, Congressman Castrostated, that he believesthat Democrats can winthe United States Con-gress. On the other hand,Congressman Castrostated the US Senatewould be an “uphillbattle.” Now, most Demo-crats in Texas are waitingfor the 8 weeks to seewhether or not he will runfor the US Senate.
Congressman Joaquin Castro
H-E-B PRIMO PICKS QUEST FOR TEXAS BEST RETURNSFOR FOURTH YEAR OF HEATED COMPETITION
Grocer issues statewide call for entries February 22nd – April 5th
AUSTIN, TX – Cel-ebrating local foods andall things Texas, H-E-B issearching for the mostcreative andmouthwatering, Texas-based food and beverageentrepreneurs or small
businesses to participatein the 2017 H-E-B PrimoPicks Quest for Texas Bestcompetition. Interestedcreators may submittheir unique product de-tails online at heb.com/quest beginning Wednes-
day, February 22 throughWednesday, Apri l 5,2017. Participants willcompete not only forcash prizes but also forthe opportunity to in-clude their uniquelyTexan products on H-E-Bshelves across the state.
H-E-B’s Business De-velopment Managers willdetermine the top 25 ap-plicants, who will presenttheir products before apanel of judges selectedby H-E-B on August 10and 11, 2017 at the Cen-tral Texas Food Bank inAustin. The panel ofjudges will determine thetop four winning prod-ucts.
H-E-B will award theGrand Prize winner
$25,000, the title of“Texas Best” Primo Pickand placement on storeshelves; the first placewinner $20,000; the sec-ond place winner$15,000; and the thirdplace winner $10,000.Eligible products mustnot be available in anyother large chain or re-tailer and the vendorsmust be willing to sell ex-clusively to H-E-B. Addi-tionally, Texas-based sup-pliers must also create,produce or co-pack theproducts in Texas.
Since its inception in2014, the Quest for TexasBest competition has re-ceived more than 1,500entries from over 200Texas towns yielding al-
most 200 new products onH-E-B store shelves acrossthe state. To celebrateaisles and aisles of Texas,highlighting Texas farmers,growers and manufactur-ers, H-E-B will kick off itstwo week TexFest, Febru-ary 22 – March 7.
Last year, Kyle, Texas’Chef Julie Albertson tookhome the Grand Prize titleand $25,000 for her TexasPie Company Original PieDough Puck – the secret tomaking the perfect, home-made pie. Austin’s ownGloriana Koll and KeeshaWaits of KITCHUN andAlexandra Worthington ofThe Culinary Cowgirls bothtook home titles andplacement on H-E-B’sshelves placing first taking
home $20,000 and secondtaking home $15,000 re-spectively.
H-E-B leaders willvisit local chambers ofcommerce, small businessdevelopment organiza-tions and business advo-cacy groups February 15 -March 31 to raise aware-ness of the product searchand contest, and advisepotential entrants aboutproduct development andbest practices for enteringtheir product in the com-petition. Cities include:Beaumont, CopperasCove, Corpus Christi, Dal-las, Del Rio, Houston,Laredo, McAllen, RoundRock and San Antonio. Toregister, please visitheb.com/quest.
Black History Month Kids DaySat February 18, 2017 | 12:00 pm | 4:00 pm at | George Washington Carver Museum 1165 Angelina St.
Family event features crafts, stories, and activities meant to introduce kids and families to theimportance of Black History Month.
Genealogy: Brick WallBreakthrough
Sat February 18 @ 1:00 pm | 3:00 pm
Join us for a free 15-minute consultation atthe Genealogy Center where you can get helpwith hard to answer questions about your an-cestry. Location: George Washington CarverMuseum 1165 Angelina St.
Apply at HRMiddle Fiskville Rd.
6th Floor, Austin, TX 78752Job Line (512 223-5621hhtp://www./austincc.ed
EEOC/AA/M/F/D/V
EMPLOYMENT | PROPOSALS | PUBLIC INFORMATIONFOR SALE | FOR RENT | BIDS | MISCELLANEOUS
www.theaustinvillager.com CLASSIFIEDS THE VILLAGER/February 17, 2017 ~ Page 7
Are you interested in doing businesswith the City of Austin?
We are here for you!City of Austin
Purchasing OfficeVendor Registration
www.austintexas.gov/department/purchasing
For information on the City of Austin’s Minority/Women-Owned Procurement Program please contact theSmall & Minority Business Resources at 512-974-7600 orvisit www.austintexas.gov/smbr.
• Applications and Resumes• Interview Coaching• Other Community Resources
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Visit www.austincityjobs.org to search andapply for City of Austin jobs.
Visit one of our five Employment Assistancelocations to get help with:
For more information on City jobs orEmployment Assistance locations:
Call: 512-974-3210 or TDD 1-800-526-9159Email: [email protected]: austintexas.gov/employmentassistance
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New Jobs for theWeek of 02/12/2017
Specialist, ProgramHighland Campus
Job# 1702005Specialist, Advising (Student
Services)Eastview Campus
Job# 1702003Assistant, Student Financial Aid
Cypress Creek CampusJob# 1702007
FOR SALE 2007 Ducati Monster
695, in perfect conditionup for sale price $2650contact r4344343 @
gmail.com
Austin Community CollegeDistrict (ACC) is solicitingproposals from qualified firms toprovide Financial CollectionsServices.
Request for Proposal(RFP) No. 946-17017SD
All proposals must be submitted toACC Purchasing by no later thanThursday, March 23, 2017 at 2:00p.m., Central Time. Solicitationpackages are available on the ACCPurchasing website at http://w w w. a u s t i n c c . e d u / o f f i c e s /purchasing/advertised-solicitationsor in the ACC Purchasing Officewith advance notice (512) 223-1044between the hours of 9am and 4pmCST, Monday through Friday.All proposals must be sealed andreturned to the ACC PurchasingOffice, ACC Service Center, 9101Tuscany Way, Austin, Texas 78754,by the date and time indicatedabove. Electronically transmittedbids will NOT be accepted unlessotherwise stated in the documents.
ASPLUNDH TREE EXPERT CO.NAME OF PROJECT:Distribution Line Clearance Services /Transmission Line Clearance ServicesBID SOLICITATION: TVN0062 / TVN0061Asplundh Tree Expert Co. is soliciting Minotiry and Women Owned Business Enterpriceparticipation for theabove mentioned City of Austin project. Solicitation documents are available at our office or at OneThis project includes the following scopes of work:CODE COMMODITY GASOLINE,AUTOMOTIVEICEWEED KILLERS (HERBICIDE) GENERAL MAINTENANCE, VEHICLEHAULING SERVICESKITS, FIRST AIDTREE TRIMMING, UTILITY LINES
4051539035675909284796239
3453248 (Energized) OSHA 29CFR 1910.269
98887(Term of this project shall be in effect for an initial term of twenty four (24) months and may be extendedthereafter for up to three(3) additional twelve (12 month periods)Contact the office for detailed information onthe scopes of service to be subcontracted and the relevant terms and conditions of thiscontract.Contact: Allen LeBlanc at (361) 289-0052 or (361) 289-0206 or via [email protected]
Grammy-Winning Jazz Singer Al Jarreau Dies at 76
FILE – In this Sept. 27, 2015, file photo, Al Jarreau performs at the Rock in Rio music festival inRio de Janeiro, Brazil. Jarreau died in a Los Angeles hospital Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, according to hisofficial Twitter account and website. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
by: Lindsey BahrAP Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) —Grammy-winning jazzsinger Al Jarreau, whotranscended genres over a50-year career, died at aLos Angeles hospital Sun-day, just days after an-nouncing his retirementfrom touring because ofexhaustion, his managerJoe Gordon confirmed.
His official Twitteraccount says he died sur-rounded by his wife, sonand a few other familymembers and friends. Hewas 76.
Jarreau was hospital-ized earlier in the weekand was said to have beenimproving slowly. Thecause of his death was notrevealed, but he had expe-rienced a number of res-piratory and cardiac issuesin recent years.
The Milwaukee na-tive won seven Grammysover the course of his half-century in music. His big-gest single was 1981’s“We’re in This Love To-gether” from the album“Breakin’ Away.” Jarreauwas also a vocalist on theall-star 1985 track, “WeAre the World,” and sangthe theme to TV’s “Moon-lighting.”
“We feel very fortu-nate to have worked withAl, one of the most distinc-tive and extraordinary vo-calists in the music,” saidConcord Records Presi-dent John Burk in a state-ment. “He was truly aforce of nature and abeautiful human beingthat will be fondly remem-bered and deeply missedby us all.”
Jarreau is one of the
few artists to have wonGrammys in three sepa-rate categories — jazz, popand R&B. Time Magazineonce called him the “great-est jazz singer alive.”
News of Jarreau’sdeath came as theGrammy Awards werekicking off in Los Angeles.
“He was really one ofthe most creative vocalistswho ever lived,” jazz singerTierney Sutton told TheAssociated Press on thered carpet. “His voice waslike an instrument.”
Sutton collaboratedwith Jarreau on the JoniMitchell tribute album “Af-ter Blue” from 2013.
“Al Jarreau was in-credible,” Jill Scott told theAP. “He was one of themost awesome, strangeperformers I ever met —and I mean strange in thebest way. He was all about
elegance, whether it wasdrinking a cup of tea orsaying good morning.”
Scott, an R&B singer,recorded with Jarreau andGeorge Benson in 2006 on“God Bless the Child.”
Tributes poured in onsocial media in remem-brance of Jarreau as well.Director Ava DuVernaytweeted that her momused to play Jarreau’s vinyland that his voice madeher happy.
Actress Octavia Spen-cer wrote that Jarreau“had a mellifluous voice.Soothing. Beautiful.”
Singer Chaka Khantweeted that he was an“unrivaled improvisationalgenius.”
In a 2014 interviewwith The Arizona Republic,Jarreau relished in hiscrossover tendencies.
“I grew up in Milwau-
kee, and I took it all in. Iwant it all. Don’t cut me offat the pass and say I can’tlisten to Muddy Watersbecause I’m a jazzer. Or Ican’t listen to GarthBrooks because I’m ajazzer. Get out of here,” hesaid.
Music wasn’t alwaysJarreau’s focus, however— he didn’t even recordhis first album until he was35. Born to a minister fa-ther and a mother whoplayed the piano inchurch, Jarreau sang froman early age, but he wasalso an athlete whoearned a master’s in vocalrehabilitation and startedhis career as a counselor inSan Francisco, playing jazz
on the side.But he couldn’t ignore
his passion for performanceand eventually gave up hisfirst career to do music fulltime.
“His second priority inlife was music. There wasno third,” read the state-ment on Jarreau’s website.“His first priority, far aheadof the other, was healing orcomforting anyone inneed.”
His final album, “MyOld Friend: CelebratingGeorge Duke,” was releasedin 2014.
Jarreau is survived byhis wife, Susan, and a son,Ryan. In lieu of flowers orgifts, a donation page hasbeen set up for the Wiscon-sin Foundation for SchoolMusic.
On Wednesday, February 22nd at 6:30 pm, Council Member Garza willhost a Town Hall meeting that will focus on CodeNext. CodeNext will guidehow land can be used throughout the city including what can be built, whereit can be built, and how much can be built.
• Learn more about CodeNEXT• Get the latest District 2 updates and information about spring and
summer programming with the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation De-partment.
• Join the discussion to share your thoughts and concerns about ourcommunity.
Child care for children ages 5-12 provided by the City of Austin’s EmmaS. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. Spanish interpretation, lightsnacks, and refreshments available.
If you have any questions, please contact our District 2 Constituent Liai-son at [email protected] or 512-978-2102.
DISTRICT 2 TOWN HALLLearning and Research Center at
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport2800 Spirit of Texas Dr., Austin, TX 78719
Page 8 ~ THE VILLAGER/February 17, 2017 THE DISPATCH www.theaustinvillager.com
and switch, stir uptheir emotions, use thename King — and myname is Alveda King — stirup people’s emotions[and] play the race card,which she was attemptingto do,” King said, speakingon Fox News’ “Your WorldWith Neil Cavuto.” Sheadded, “If you look at myaunt Coretta Scott King’sletter, you could tell shewas a peacemaker. Her in-tentions were never to di-vide during her whole life.”
Alveda King went onto say she believed whileher aunt might have refer-enced some of Sessions’questionable comments,she also would have ac-knowledged the senator’sprevious efforts to endschool segregation andprosecute members of theKu Klux Klan.
“Aunt Coretta was avery reasonable womanand she, with integrity,would have noted that hehad done some great work
ALVEDA KING: “Aunt Corettawas a very reasonable woman
with integrity”
in fighting against discrimi-nation,” she said.
Warren’s decision toread Mrs. King’s lettermade national headlinesafter Senate MajorityLeader Mitch McConnellcensored her statementsby invoking the obscureRule XIX, which states thatSenators should not “im-pute to another Senator orto other Senators any con-duct or motive unworthyor unbecoming a Senator.”
At issue was a linefrom King’s letter thatread: “Mr. Sessions hasused the awesome powerof his office to chill thefree exercise of the vote byBlack citizens.
“I am surprised thatthe words of Coretta ScottKing are not suitable fordebate in the UnitedStates Senate,” Warrensaid after she was ruled inviolation of the rule anddisbarred from speaking.
“Sen. Warren wasgiving a lengthy speech,”McConnell said of his rea-sons for silencing his col-
league. “She had ap-peared to violate the rule.She was warned. She wasgiven an explanation. Nev-ertheless, she persisted.”
Several Democraticsenators stood in solidar-ity with Sen. Warren, read-ing portions of the sameletter on Tuesday nightand on Wednesday.
“The idea that a let-ter and a statement madeby Coretta Scott King, thewidow of Martin LutherKing Jr. … could not be pre-sented and spoken abouthere on the floor of theSenate is, to me, incom-prehensible,” said Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) inhis remarks from the Sen-ate floor.
According to reports,hundreds of protestorsalso gathered outsideMcConnell’s Kentuckyhome and read Mrs. King’sletter in which she out-lined her objections toSessions. A similar protestwas reportedly plannedfor outside his Washing-ton, D.C. abode.
CONTINUED FROMPAGE 1
Coretta Scott King Elizabeth WarrenJeff Sessions
Statement from U.S. EducationSecretary Betsy DeVos on Visiting
Howard University DuringIts 150th Anniversary
U.S. Secretary ofEducation Betsy DeVostraveled to Howard Uni-versity to meet withHoward University Presi-dent Dr. Wayne A. I.Frederick, M.D., MBA, fol-lowed by a meeting withstudent leaders.
The following is astatement from SecretaryDeVos:
“It was a pleasure tomeet with Howard Univer-sity President Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick and severalstudent leaders this morn-ing. We had a robust dis-cussion around the manychallenges facing highereducation and the impor-tant role of HBCUs.Howard University plays aunique and valuable role
in the fabric of our highereducation system, and Iam honored to help cel-ebrate its 150th anniver-sary. I look forward to vis-iting many schools acrossour great country andcontinuing the discussionon how we can increaseaccess to affordable,quality higher educa-tion.”
LEFT - Secretary DeVos,right, and Howard UniversityPresident Dr. Wayne A. I.Frederick.
RIGHT - SecretaryDeVos meets withHoward University of-ficials and students. Shewas joined by WhiteHouse official OmarosaO. Manigault, left.
Aretha isRetiring: Singer
Plans 1 MoreAlbum
NEW YORK (AP) - At74, the Queen of Soul hasdecided to take it a littleeasier. Aretha Franklin isplanning to retire this year,she told Detroit TV stationWDIV Local 4, the city’sNBC affiliate. The singersays she will make onemore album, with severaltracks produced by StevieWonder, and will other-wise limit herself to
“some select things,many one a month, forsix months out of theyear ” as she devotesmore time to her grand-children. She also says2017 will be her “lastyear in concert.”
“”This will be my lastyear,” Franklin said. “I willbe recording, but this willbe my last year in concert.This is it.”by: The Associated Press